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A new study shows only 13 percent of emergency medical providers reported cleaning their hands before patient contact, according to the study from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. The study, which was administered through an online survey and distributed via email to national and regional emergency medical organizations, looked at almost 1,500 EMS providers. The results revealed a number of troubling trends...

Stretta is a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure that dramatically reduces GERD symptoms and offers an alternative to anti-reflux surgery in so-called “refractory” GERD sufferers, or those who do not get adequate relief from medications used to treat the symptoms of GERD. Steven Schwaitzberg, MD, FACS, Chief of Surgery, Cambridge Hospital Campus, recently spoke with Surgical Products about Stretta.

Patients who received kidneys from deceased donors considered to be at high risk for transmission of infectious disease fared well more than 2 years after transplant, researchers reported. In a single-center study, 87 percent of transplanted patients whose donor kidneys were considered high-risk had good kidney function and no trace of infection over nearly 2.5 years of follow-up...

To the list of problems plaguing President Obama’s healthcare law, add one more — fraud. With millions of Americans frustrated and bewildered by the trouble-prone federal website for health insurance, con men and unscrupulous marketers are seizing their chance. State and federal authorities report a rising number of consumer complaints, ranging from deceptive sales practices to identity theft, linked to the Affordable Care Act...

Surgical teams are faced with the challenging task of reducing post-operative complications. Solutions that enable safer surgery, faster recovery time and better outcomes are required. For laparoscopic surgery, this will include technologies that lead to reduced post-operative pain and a lower risk of herniation. The advent of technologies that offer a consistent positive outcome will be a welcome benefit for both patient and surgeon...

Because of the cost and complexity associated with capital equipment purchases for the operating room, hospitals must carefully evaluate what their investments will bring in terms of improved productivity and efficiency. While it is nice to have state-of-the-art equipment complete with cutting-edge features and capabilities, it does more harm than good to make the investment if the equipment cannot be leveraged properly...

According to a recent study by the University of Chicago, the healthcare sector accounts for about 8 percent of greenhouse gases. Furthermore, other studies suggest operating rooms generate tremendous amount of waste: roughly 20-30 percent of a facility’s total waste. This is a major environmental issue, and it’s one the healthcare industry is going to have to take very seriously moving forward...

The selection of proper surgical apparel and how it is worn in the operating room are critical to creating a safe operating room environment for both hospital patients and staff. Bloodborne pathogens and various microorganisms are a constant presence and threat in the OR. However, despite myriad infection control concerns, proper surgical apparel purchasing choices are not always made...

Given the fact that reflux is normal in most infants, determining which patients should be treated surgically requires careful consideration and keen judgment, researchers warned. The majority of patients receiving surgical antireflux procedures are 6 months old or younger (52.7 percent), and the hazard for progression to such a procedure decreased significantly as patients got older...

An orthopedic surgeon who botched and faked thousands of surgeries over a five-year period has pleaded guilty to one count of healthcare fraud. Dr. Spyros Panos, who practiced medicine in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., changed his plea from not guilty to guilty when he appeared in federal court in White Plains, N.Y. last week...

Patients with knee osteoarthritis who were given injections of hyaluronic acid were able to delay undergoing total knee replacement, a researcher said here. Overall, among patients who had total knee replacement because of severe osteoarthritis, those who had received hyaluronic acid injections had the surgery up to 2.6 years later than those who didn't have the injections...

A recent study conducted by Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago showed that when breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy applied a topical skin cream formulated with a blend of natural ingredients made from botanical and marine sources to moisturize and soothe skin, none experienced treatment interruptions due to skin damage...

Perioperative administration of beta-blockers during non-cardiac surgery may put patients at risk of acute heart problems, researchers found. In a single-center study, use of beta-blockers during surgery significantly increased the risk of arrhythmia and decompensated heart failure...

Doctor-owned firms that distribute medical devices supplied 19 percent of the products used in spinal surgeries billed to Medicare in 2011, according to an investigation by the Office of Inspector General. In fiscal year 2012, Medicare paid hospitals a total of $3.9 billion for 178,789 spinal surgeries, or an average of $21,613 each, the report said...